I've shipped up to Boston

A little report from my great New England Trip of 2009. I had a great couple of days in Connecticut with my sister and her clan. The "little boys" are no longer that - they've become "young men." yikes!

I headed to Boston this morning. Checked at my hotel - not surprisingly, my room wasn't ready quite yet. So I headed out for a day of fun! I had seen this place on my last trip to Boston. Great place for a salad! They make it to order - very fresh.

Then I headed to the Museum of Fine Arts. If I lived in Boston, I think I would go here once a week, just to look at the Sargents. They've got a special exhibit on right now called "Titian,
Tinteretto, and Veronese: Rivals in Renaissance Venice." So, I adore Venice. I adore Renaissance art. You know I'm going to say this was fantastic. And it was! I always get the audio guide to these exhibits - they add so much to the tour. It also reminded me of an awesome site in Venice: the Scuolo Grande di San Rocco - a spot decorated by Tinteretto. Very cool.

I was headed back to my hotel, walking through the Prudential Center arcade. I knew that Dustin Pedroia was due to sign copies of his new book at the Barnes & Noble at 5 pm, but was stunned to see that the line was already forming at 2:30! So, what the heck, I jumped in. Had to stand and wait for quite a while, but the time was quickly passed chatting with others in the line.

Finally, 5 pm arrived. DP was actually ten minutes late - but there was a lot of excitement when we spotted George Kottaras and Nick Green hanging out in the bookstore. They were there to "support" Dustin, I'm sure! The mix of people in the line was really interesting - from the teenage girls who screamed when they spotted DP, to the mom and teenage boy behind me! When he finally started signing, the line moved VERY quickly - I was thru b 5:30! He wouldn't personalize anything - so he couldn't sign it "from the miniature badass" - but he did laugh when I suggested it.

Back to the hotel. Unpacked, and headed back out for dinner at Sonsie. I've wanted to eat there for several years, but never got around to it. Outstanding meal. And a good place for a single diner - because it's loud and hopping! Yum!

Now kicking back. I'm going on a walking tour of the North End tomorrow morning - yum!